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The Great Prince of the Forest
The Old Stag, better known by the title of the Great Prince of the Forest, is the father of Bambi and former mate of Bambi's mother. He was featured in the 1942 film, Bambi and had a larger role in its 2006 midquel, Bambi II. Fred Shields voiced the Great Prince in the first film and Patrick Stewart voiced him in the midquel. Background Personality As a fawn, The Great Prince was said to have been much like his son, Bambi, personality-wise.Bambi II As an adult, he was highly dignified and sophisticated. In his own words, he "walked with pride". He sometimes seemed cold and indifferent, particularly towards Bambi. After the two bonded following the death of Bambi's mother, he began to express his emotions more openly and talk about the past more often, something he once would not do as he believed "the past is in the past". Appearance The Great Prince was one of if not the biggest stag in the forest, with a large set of antlers. He had brown fur and brown eyes. Biography The Great Prince might have been born on April 29 to an unknown doe. Very little is known about his fawnhood. When he was still young, he met a young doe with whom he would eventually mate and conceive a son, who would be named Bambi. He would not actually meet Bambi until the fawn was old enough to walk and talk. They met as a result of the young deer following a group of stags on their way to meet the Great Prince. The two did not speak at all to each on their first interaction, as the Great Prince quietly observed his offspring. That very day, Man would visit the forest. When the Great Prince heard Bambi crying for his father, he found the young fawn and lead both him and his mother to safety, only to disappear back into the forest shortly afterwards.Bambi He would not interact with his son again until after the death of his mate at the hands of Man. It was then that, for the first time, he revealed to the fawn how the two related, referring to him as, "my son." He took Bambi back to his home, but asked his friend, Owl, to find a doe to raise him instead, not wanting parental matters to keep him from his princely duties. As the season of spring progressed, he and Bambi began to bond. By the time Friend Owl had found a foster mother for Bambi, the Great Prince had already grown close to his son. However, he chose to not let his emotions get in the way of things and sent Bambi away to live with Mena, the foster mother Friend Owl had found. That very same day, Man and his dogs attacked the forest, and the attack led to the Great Prince reuniting with his son, who almost lost his life after a rock slide. It appears that he decided to reverse his decision to send Bambi away, as the two were still together later when Bambi began to grow his antlers. According to one account, however, the Old Stag and Bambi were still on icy terms even into Bambi's adulthood. This source claims that Bambi did not really know or have a relationship with him until after he had already mated with Faline. Even then, it was not until the death of Faline's brother Gobo at the hands of Man that Bambi decided to seek out the Old Stag and become both his friend and his student.Bambi: A Life in the Woods At any rate, whether the two bonded in Bambi's childhood or his adulthood, it is known that the Great Prince and Bambi were on speaking terms when a great fire engulfed the forest in the aftermath of one of Man's hunting trips. The Great Prince was the one who found Bambi, who had been shot by man, and encouraged him to get up despite his wound and flee the forest before he was burned to death. He then led his son through the flames and to safety. However, he was seriously injured in the process and would never fully recover from said injury, forcing Bambi to assume the responsibilities, while still lacking the title, of the Great Prince of the Forest. The Old Stag did eventually die, passing on his title of Great Prince of the Forest to Bambi as he wondered off to die alone.Bambi His abdication of the title occurred on the same day his twin grandchildren and the children of his beloved Bambi, Geno and Gurri, were born. Quotes "You poor thing." "Your mother cannot be with you anymore. Come, my son." "Get up. You must get up. Get up. Get up." "A prince does not "woo-hoo". A prince maintains control at all times." Relationships *'Bambi's mother' - Mate *'Mena' - Friend *'Aunt Ena' - Mate's sister *'Bambi' - Son *'Faline' - Son's mate/mate's niece *'Gobo' - Son's mate's brother/mate's nephew *'Geno' - Grandson *'Gurri' - Granddaughter *'Ferto' - Grandson Gallery Behind the Scenes The Old Stag was created by Felix Salten, first appearing in his 1922 novel, Bambi: A Life in the Woods. This "Old Stag" figure, whose real name was never revealed in the novel, was retooled into the "Great Prince of the Forest" character for Walt Disney's 1942 cinematic adaptation of Salten's novel, Bambi: A Life in the Woods. An argument might be made that the Old Stag and the Great Prince of the Forest are different characters, as there are some differences in how the two are depicted. The Old Stag is never stated to be Bambi's father and is simply his mentor, as opposed to the Great Prince of the Forest, who refers to Bambi as his son several times and is undeniably confirmed to be Bambi's father in Bambi II. Furthermore, the Old Stag was notable for his mystery, with some characters in Bambi: A Life in the Woods stating that he would sometimes disappear for many years until someone briefly spotted him, only for him to disappear again. The Great Prince, on the other hand, seems to be a much more visible figure, even going so far as to march proudly in front of the young bucks. However, despite their differences, the ''Bambi'' comic strip strongly implies that they are the same, using the names "The Old Stag" and "The Great Prince of the Forest" interchangeably. Notes and References Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Articles needing improvement Category:Parents Category:Main characters Category:Deer Category:Fathers Category:Princes Category:Disney Category:Grandparents Category:Bucks/Male Deer Category:Animals Category:Adults Category:Book Characters Category:Mule deer Category:Roe deer Category:Bambi's Family Category:Great Princes of the Forest